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Gettysburg. To most people the very name conjures up images of war, death, destruction, horrified screams, and all manner of damage and ruin. But to three people growing up there in the mid-1800s it was simply - home. Jennie Wade, Jack Skelly, and Wesley Culp played tag in the streets and yards of the village, tossed pebbles into Rock Creek and fished from its banks. They went to school together and shared each other's secrets and dreams of the future. But none of them foresaw what would happen when war reached their little town. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is situated a mere ten miles north of the Mason/Dixon Line, a hub where over a half a dozen roads converge, making it easy for people traveling in numerous directions. So when the war started, it was not inconceivable that the village would, sooner or later, be touched by it. And touch it, it did. For three days in early-July 1863 the battle raged in and around the town until, when it was over, a village that numbered about 2,000 inhabitants suddenly found itself caring for over 20,000 wounded soldiers from both sides. First the blue flies came, followed quickly by people, both the curious and the aid-givers. The heat was intense, wells ran dry, and food had to be brought in by wagonloads.And in the midst of all the tragedy, a story of three friends emerged. Once, Jack Skelly, had joined the Union Army; another, Wesley Culp, the Confederate Army; and young Jennie stayed behind, helping her mother in their tailor shop. War, like death, will not be ignored, and it came to visit each of them in its own way. Life, too, in its own way holds many secrets, including how it ends. As close as the three friends were in life, they would never learn each other's secret ending. - Connie Kris Hansen, 2014